A year, although 365 days, can feel like nothing more than a blink of an eye. Where has the time gone? Why is it that when I am bored, doing nothing but staring at the wall, the clock stops ticking. But when I am enjoying myself, time seems to fly by. As I look back on this year, it has gone by in a blink of an eye. Blinking: Step by Step or “My Year of Florida DECA” 1. Initially, your eyes have to be open. I campaigned at the SCDC, trying to secure my spot as a Florida DECA Vice President. Although I was nervous, the joy that I experienced that weekend was much greater than that of fear. I was elected! 2. Your eyelids start to lower. ICDC in Salt Lake City was one of the best weeks of my life! DECA love and devotion flood and overtake the city. All around me, people have the same passion that I have. 3. Your eyelids finally close. Eight months after I started my journey, I was in Orlando with over 300 Florida DECA members for the Annual Florida DECA Leadership Training Conference. My fellow officers and I ran a great conference and left with hundreds of new Facebook friends! 4. Your eyes start to peak open as lids rise. I found myself in our nation’s capital. The Ultimate DECA Power Trip is a leadership conference organized by our national officers. It is much smaller than ICDC, but still has that same great DECA feeling! Connecting with Chartered Association Officers from all over the Southern and North Atlantic regions, fellow officers and I made plenty of new contacts and ideas to help make Florida DECA even better! 5. Eyes return to open position. Finally, as I am ending my year, my blink, I am preparing for the Florida DECA Career Development Conference, like the officer teams before me. I wish you all the best of luck on your competitions and I urge you all to cherish the whole weekend and all the other wonderful experiences that you will have with DECA… because it will all be over in the blink of an eye.

Hi Florida DECA! Helping out in your community is a huge part of DECA. Not only for community service hours for bright futures or for public relations, but because it is our responsibility to help those who are less fortunate than us.

Florida DECA is holding one more community service event this year. It is the Helping Hands Mac N Cheese Drive! We are asking all DECA Chapters to bring boxes of Mac N Cheese to our State Career & Development Conference this year in Orlando! All the Mac N Cheese boxes collected will be given directly to the Seminole County Families in Transition, which is a not-for-profit organization that helps starving children and families in the local area. The winning chapter will receive a traveling trophy!

The majority of things we can do for community service projects are right in our local communities and schools. There are many things you can do to help, from coastal clean up projects, Relay for Life, school events, local food banks, animal shelters, home building, and more.

To make the most difference, find something you have a passion for - something that you care about! At Riverview High School we have a passion for Muscular Dystrophy because it hit home with us. Our head custodian’s son was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. The past 5 years we have held a school wide campaign every year to help raise money and make home renovations to make his life just a little easier.

So find your passion and make your difference!

Who will be able hold the trophy March 2nd?

Good luck everyone at your district competition! I look forward to seeing you at the State Conference! Remember, do more than survive, Thrive!

Hey Florida DECA! I hope you have had a great winter break and are ready to get back to school! Many of you reading this post are DECA officers for your school’s chapter. But are you great officers? That is something that you should be asking yourself. Am I doing the best that I can? Am I doing my job? Am I getting chapter members involved? Am I a great leader? Being a great officer isn’t easy. Promoting DECA activities and competition to students who don’t care as much as you can be really difficult. Through my experiences as a DECA officer, I can tell you that by getting chapter members involved at meetings and in decision making, helps to make them interested about those activities. By putting a poll on your Facebook page for members to give their input can help them feel more involved and accepted by your group. By personally texting members saying that you would love to have them come to the next meeting, you are creating a connection between that person and DECA, a connection that they will continuously think about. Making members feel welcomed and accepted in DECA is the most important thing about being a great officer! If you do that, all of the other things will fall into place, and now you have friends to help you with the work required to do those things! As always, if you have any questions on being a great DECA officer or anything else, please feel free to email me at schajaz@me.com or send me a message on Facebook. I challenge all of you to be the best DECA officer that you can!

Greetings Florida DECA, on behalf of Team 53, we would like to extend a warm holiday greeting to you and yours. As you deck the halls with boughs of holly, remember that tis the season to be jolly, and with that in mind, we have all heard the saying that "giving is better than receiving". So this holiday season as you gather with family and friends for celebrations of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, or the many other countless celebrations, remember those less fortunate then you. We challenge you to lend a simple helping hand, because it can make a world of difference this holiday season. From helping out at a local food bank, to reading a book to the children at a foster home, it really can impact someone this holiday season! So as we celebrate, don't forget to also give back to your community, as service over self is always a satisfying feeling.

On behalf of Team 53, we would like to wish you and yours a very merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, a wonderful Kwanzaa and an amazing holiday season altogether!

Hello again Florida DECA! Do you know what Community Service means? Community Service is not just the general dictionary definition of “Voluntary work intended to help people in a particular area”. Community Service gives a person, a family, an animal what they need to live and survive. Florida DECA is strong advocates of community service, for the reason of how large of an organization we are. Because of how large and still growing we are, we have a larger chance of making that difference in not just one person’s life, but many. Florida DECA created the Florida DECA Helping Hands in 2011 and in two short years we have donated over 10 thousand articles of clothing to the Orlando Salvation Army and the Seminole County Families in Transition. This year, we wanted to begin a whole new community service project and we call it the Mac and Cheese Drive. Chapters will collect boxes of macaroni and cheese within their schools and bring them along to us at the State Career Development Conference on February 28, 2013 through March 3, 2013. The top three chapters that collect the most mac and cheese will receive a traveling trophy and the mac and cheese itself is donated to the Seminole County Families in Transition. I hope to see a mountain of mac and cheese at this year’s SCDC! Team 53 and I expect you Florida DECA to do more than just survive in this competition, but to thrive and make it to the first place collector’s spot! Until next time, Kasey Kupcik Florida DECA President

It’s finally here Florida DECA, that time of the year that gets you in the spirit! The holiday season is amongst us, and we all know what that means; ICDC is only a few months away! For those of you who don't know what ICDC is, it's DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC), the highlight of the DECA year. Fourteen thousand high school students, advisors, businesspersons and alumni gather for several days of DECA excitement. Most participants at ICDC compete in one of DECA's competitive events. The top competitors in each event are recognized for their outstanding achievements. In addition to the competitive events, many students and advisors participate in a variety of leadership and career advancing academies.

"I know a place, where the grass is really greener! Warm, wet and wild, there must be something in the water!" Obviously by this time, you know this year’s ICDC will be in Anaheim, California. But with that, we cannot forget what it takes to get there. In the next few weeks, districts in the state will be holding testing and competition for district level, the first step to making it to Anaheim. Make sure that you come ready with the ultimate goal in mind, of making it to the pinnacle of DECA competition! After you place at your district level, get ready for states, held yet again at the Downtown Disney Hilton, in Orlando, Florida! There, you'll be competing with the best in the state, seeing who's got what it takes to take first in the many categories, such as automotive marketing, Travel & Tourism, or even in Principals of Finance! As your name is called to receive your first place award for your category, get ready to not only get that Florida shaped glass trophy, but to prepare yourself, as you will be among Florida's finest, representing your state, your school and yourself at ICDC!

This year, the Florida delegation has the Hilton Anaheim to call home, as we work hard, compete hard, and play harder! With the convention center directly across the street, and a block from the Disneyland Resort, the possibilities for fun are endless. So as your district level events begin, sit down and think what the ultimate goal is, ICDC in Anaheim, California! And remember that hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard, and sometimes with a little luck and hard work, you could be the best, even the best in the world this year at the 67th International Career Development Conference! Go check out the official Facebook page of this year’s ICDC here!

Hi Florida DECA! With DECA Month coming to an end, we can see that there is a lot more to leadership than what meets the eye. Good communication skills, trustworthy respectful, and passionate are some of the qualities needed to be a great leader. Another important quality that so many people overlook is caring. Caring is a necessary quality of a leader. As a leader, you want every single member that walks into your chapter to feel that they are important, that they belong, and you are happy they are there. Leaders that care for all of their members get more respect and motivation from their members. A few tips on how to show that you care are to welcome members, smile, remember names, get to know your members, and make them a part of our DECA family! At the end of my sophomore year, I traveled to Washington DC for the Summer Officer Leadership Training. I was one of three chapters in attendance that were not state officers, and was the only one that came alone. However, as soon as I walked into that conference, Claire Cloker, the National DECA President at the time, made me feel that I was important, that I belonged, and that she was happy I was there. She changed that conference for me, and because of her great caring quality, it motivated me to run for state office. Leaders possess a lot of influence on how much a member wants to be a part of DECA. I cannot wait to see all of you at the State CDC! Start studying, and remember Do More than Survive, THRIVE! Jason Richards Florida DECA Vice President

It’s December Florida DECA!!!!! December is my favorite month of the year! I love the cool air, the winter clothes (Florida winter clothes) that I get to wear for the only time all year, and best of all, WINTER BREAK!!!! As I’m sure you all have been hearing throughout the year, Florida DECA’s theme is “Do More Than Survive! Thrive!” But what does it really mean? Does it mean do your best in school? Or maybe it means do your best in DECA testing. Or maybe even that you should standout in anything you do! Well the truth is, that we meant it to mean all of those examples and much more.By simply “SURVING” in a club, a sport, or a school subject, one is taking only the very first step to success. But by going above and beyond and “THRIVING,” one is taking advantage of the opportunities that are given to him or her. By sitting in biology class like a rock every day for a year, you have completed biology class. You have survived. But by attentively listening and asking questions in biology class, after doing so for a year, you have sufficient knowledge in that subject matter and you have taken advantage of your daily hour of biology class. You have thrived in biology!The same thing holds true for DECA. By prospering on your competition, leaving your comfort zone at conferences, and getting more and more friends involved in DECA, you are THRIVING! I challenge all of you, to Do More Than Survive! THRIVE!

As a senior, I have been more involved with extracurricular activities than ever before. In the fall I attended all of my school’s home football games and I have been hanging out with my friends during soccer practice and DECA meetings. But as the holidays approach and I am slowly getting acceptance letters from colleges, I can feel myself getting the infamous and inevitable symptoms of “Senioritis.” If you’re a senior then you probably know the phrase well, and if you haven’t heard about it, you will. “Senioritis” is a disease that strikes seniors as they begin to approach the end of their high school career. Wondering if you’re at risk of falling ill? Here’s my fool-proof plan on how to keep yourself safe from “senioritis”: 1. Go To All Your Classes – Whether it’s sitting on the patio to avoid a substitute or driving off campus to get McDonald’s during class, I’ve seen senior after senior skip classes to avoid the stress and work of a full day’s work. 2. Don’t Let Your Grades Slip – The number one concern of senior guidance counselors is that their students will not graduate or will get their admission to a school revoked after final transcripts. If you keep your grades a priority, you will be fighting off the biggest symptom of “senioritis.” 3. It’s Too Early To Cut Ties – As you make the transition from high school and into the “real world” of college and work, it’s easy to want to cut ties before you are forced to say goodbye in a few months. Try to remember that there is still a lot of time to spend with friends and loved ones so you should make the most of it instead of getting involved in distracting drama. 4. Enjoy Yourself – Don’t be so eager to leave and just enjoy the moments that you still have to attend varsity basketball games and school-wide walk-a-thons. By learning to fight off “senioritis” your setting yourself up for success in high school, college, and your career. Good luck seniors! -Erica Mick, Florida DECA State Vice President

Hello Florida DECA! DECA Month is here and it’s time to do more than survive, THRIVE. This month we all will hopefully be doing many events and bonding with our own DECA chapters as well as Florida DECA. THRIVE is defined as to prosper or flourish. That is what we, DECA members, will do this month and continue throughout this year. We will gain new experiences, make new friends, and develop skills that will help us in our future. District Competition is not that far away! It is time to start preparing for competition so we can THRIVE all the way to Anaheim! I look forward to seeing all of your accomplishments through DECA Month and this year. Remember, Do More Than Survive, THRIVE! Jason Richards Florida DECA State Vice President